It's been a long time since this has been discussed. I've not seen any additional marketing material regarding this - not that I've been looking out for it - but are there any numbers on how well the service is doing? I'd hate to hear it got cancelled "because of lack of regional support".

As a young kid, my mother used to take me to California on the train.
We would change in Seattle. Back then it was the Great Northern, with a mountain goat as a logo, and green and white cars. It thundered through White Rock, and I got no end of joy, as a four year old, seeing freighters in Puget Sound. Then it was a change of train in Seattle and on to family in San Francisco. Memories.... memories ......

I don't think Quebec would be too happy with that. I do want them to fly over Japan but reality is, you need Quebec to get to Montreal and Quebec City, and they want French built trains most likely. If they went Shinkansen, I'd be happy.

I don't think Quebec cares if they're French-built or not. Just like the ROC doesn't care if cars are built in England or an English speaking country.

Quebec sovereignty has far less to do with anything in Paris than people seem to imagine. It's much more local in scope.

When you log on to Amtrak's site to book a Van-Sea trip, the bus shows up as both a faster and a cheaper option. That's just sad.

$40-$43 and 4h25m from Vancouver.

Now if I plug in Bellingham for the average Friday night, it's only 2h30m and $25. I can see why it fills up. Bus didn't even come up as an option (maybe it's sold out).

Amtrak has 4 buses leave Vancouver that are direct to Seattle. There is a 5th bus that leaves from Bellingham and meets up with a train in Seattle for Portland. One of the reasons the bus is faster is that it is direct, the train stops in 5 places before getting to Seattle. I've never taken the bus though, so who knows if it ever gets stuck in Seattle Traffic (I bet it's not always on time).

Effective August 13-18, Amtrak Cascades travelers on trains 510, 513, 516, & 517 will be transfered to motorcoach (bus) between Bellingham, WA and Vancouver, B.C. due to emergency repairs being made to a drawbridge just north of the Canadian border.

Trains 510, 513, 516 and 517 will operate between Seattle and Bellingham (including intermediate stations) only. Checked baggage will be handled underneath the buses and transferred between trains and buses at Bellingham.

Please plan accordingly for extended delays due to increased border traffic. We apologize for the disruption to our schedule. Repairs to the drawbridge are underway and will be completed as quickly as possible.

For more information and up to date travel advisories, please visit AmtrakCascades.com.

Ha. I was kayaking in White Rock on Sunday and actually saw those emergency repairs. It was on the bridge that goes by the marina, just before it enters Crescent beach. There are still freight trains going across it, but there were quite a few people working on it.

Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
Office of the Governor of Washington

RIDERSHIP UP AS 2ND AMTRAK TRAIN MARKS 1ST ANNIVERSARY

VANCOUVER – After one year in operation, the second Amtrak Cascades train to Seattle and Portland has topped its ridership expectations and recorded its best month in July, with nearly 25,000 passengers.

From the day service began Aug. 19, 2009, through July 31, ridership for the second Amtrak Cascades train has totalled more than 221,000.

Ridership on the original train to Vancouver has also increased dramatically, up over 21 per cent compared to 2009.

.........

To encourage even greater ridership between the State of Washington and British Columbia, travellers will be offered a 25-per cent ticket discount on Amtrak Cascades travel to Vancouver during the month of September.

Ha. I was kayaking in White Rock on Sunday and actually saw those emergency repairs. It was on the bridge that goes by the marina, just before it enters Crescent beach. There are still freight trains going across it, but there were quite a few people working on it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by twoNeurons

It's rarely the American infrastructure that fails on that route.

it's that good old American "figure out what you gotta do, figure out how you're gonna do it ... and get it done." versus Canadian dithering, discussing, and last-minute patching-up. (when it comes to infrastructure... politics.. medical insurance... that's a totally different story, but not for this thread!!!!)